Lowell Spencer / Morning Journal Heartland Christian’s Isaiah Matthews (0) and Corban Seutia raise the district championship trophy after beating Kidron Central Christian in a Division VII district title game on Saturday at Smithville.

SMITHVILLE – The goal was to make school history. And that is exactly what the Heartland Christian Lions boys’ basketball team accomplished.

The third-seeded Lions continued their hot shooting and ferocious defense to throttle the seventh-seeded Kidron Central Christian Comets 82-52, capturing the Division VII, Northeast 2, district championship at Smithville’s Wilbur Berkey Fieldhouse on Saturday afternoon. They advance to a regional semifinal against Fairport Harbor on Tuesday night in Barberton.

“It means the world to me,” Lions senior Isaiah Mathews said. “This is our third year being here, and we were so hungry for this. We all wanted it as a team. It’s just an amazing feeling.”

“This is a dream come true,” senior Corban Seutia said. “I have been in this program for four years now, and every year we came so close. This is so much sweeter, it feels great.”

The victory improves the Lions’ season record to 21-4 and, more importantly, makes school history as their first district championship. The Lions came up short in the past two years in the district finals.

“I don’t know if you can put it into words, it’s just so cool,” an elated Lions head coach, Josh Scott said. “We have been praying about this. Not to win, but just for our kids to be able to play to the best of their ability. We have a talented team.”

The Lions once again utilized their quickness and speed as they capitalized on quick transition baskets on just about every turnover the Comets committed. The Lions’ defense forced the Comets into 14 turnovers in the contest, including six in the opening period.

Offensively, the Lions again had a hot hand shooting the ball, as they scored 82 points in consecutive games. They also hit six shots from behind the arc and converted 10-of-15 free throws in the contest.

“Coach Scott has been really pushing us to get better every day. We had that streak where we lost a few games in a row, but we knew what we needed to do to get here,” Seutia said.

However, the Comets showed why they were in the finals, as they raced out to a quick 8-4 lead over the Lions just two and a half minutes into the game. But when Collin Kalaher converted a layup into points at the 4:05 mark of the first frame, the Lions grabbed the lead at 9-8. They would not surrender that advantage for the remainder of the contest.

“They are a great team, Central Christian. But we knew if we played the way that we knew we could play, we would win the game. It was just a matter of time,” Mathews said of the Lions’ mindset early in the game. “It took some time to settle in, but once we settled in, we just poured it on.”

By the time Brady Conaway connected on a basket at the 1:15 mark of the quarter, the Lions’ lead had grown to 10, at 18-8, concluding a 14-0 run by the Lions. They enjoyed an eight-point, 20-12 lead at the close of the first quarter.

“Seeing the ball go through the net early helped us to calm down a little bit,” Scott said of the Lions’ confidence as the game progressed. “We are that type of team. The first shot goes through, and then everybody kind of exhales. But I think it was just our veteran presence, too. This is our third district championship game.”

The Lions doubled up the Comet 24-12 less than a minute into the second period following a bucket by Kalaher, and they stretched out their advantage to 32-18 when Jacob Reed laid in a shot at the 3:52 mark of the period. The Lions eventually headed to the locker room at the halftime break, leading the Comets 38-26.

The Comets would cut the deficit to nine points with a basket to start the second half, but the Lions answered with a 7-1 run to bulge their advantage out to 15 points at 45-30 by the 5:56 mark of the third quarter. When Jack Morgan scored a basket with just 1:40 remaining in the period, the Lions enjoyed a 19-point lead. A basket by Secutia with under a minute left in the period provided the Lions with a commanding 62-40 lead.

“We came out successful today with a good defense,” Seutia said. “And we got those rebounds.”

The Comets were not able to mount any serious charge in the final frame as the Lions continued to pull away. With Mathews hitting a three with just under two minutes remaining and a late basket by Easton Jones, the Lions reached the final 30-point margin.

Kalaher scored a game-high 30 points for the Lions, while Mathews and Brody Conaway each tallied 12 points on the night. Also reaching double-digits was Seutia with 10 points.

The Comets’ senior center, Ruben Carr, led his team with 21 points and 10 rebounds. Drew Badertscher scored 10 points, including three 3-pointers.

Tuesday’s regional semifinal contest will tipoff at 6 p.m. from Barberton High School’s Main Gym. The Lions will tangle with the Skippers (21-2), who they beat in a district semifinal last year.

“This is what we dream about,” Seutia said. “We try to get better and better and try to be the best of the best and see how far we can go.”

“Now we have to turn around and say, let’s not stop here. Let’s not be satisfied,” Scott said.